Weekly Poker Roundup: September 25, 2016

Affilates Low on Regulation Totem Pole

Speaking at the Betting on Sports Conference in London, Remote Gambling Association (RGA) Chief Executive Clive Hawkswood said that when it comes to online poker regulation, rules regarding affiliates are very low on the list of priorities.

Affiliates are people and/or companies that attract customers to online gaming sites and get paid for each real money player they end up sending to a site. The site you are on right now, GamblingSites.org, is an affiliate – if you go to, say, our poker room reviews and click on a “Join Now” button, we will make a few bucks if you end up signing up and playing for real money. It’s a way to pay the bills. Affiliates essentially do much of the marketing for the poker rooms, drawing the eyeballs of potential customers and perhaps getting them to sign up.

And while affiliates are a major part of the online gaming industry, Hawkswood, said that there are bigger fish to fry right now. “While they’re [the regulators] getting to grips with what you might say are the bigger issues, they’re starting to move down on to that next level.”

He also said that big reason why regulators haven’t touched affiliate rules yet is simply because they don’t know enough about affiliates. Many regulators don’t even know anything about the online gaming industry as a whole, so they need to bone up on the basics before tackling affiliates.

Prahlad Friedman Drops First Rap Track

Former online poker pro and oft-controversial figure in the poker community Prahlad Friedman hasn’t been heard of much in poker circles lately, but that’s because he has embarked on another career: rapper. That’s right, Prahlad Friedman is now a rap and hip-hop artist. Just over a week ago, Friedman, now known as “Pragress,” released his first single, “Hazy Eyes,” a duet with Aida Leal Magalhães.

In his bio on his Pragress Records website, Friedman wrote, “Poker is fun, but there ain’t nothin like expressing yourself through musical notes and words. When people feel your music they might bump your jams for their whole life, that’s mind blowing.”

Friedman was one of the first must-watch online poker players and while he does not have an extremely lengthy live tournament resume, he did win close to $2.5 million on the live tournament circuit. One of the most memorable moments of his poker career was unfortunately a low light, when, in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, he accused Jeff Lisandro of not putting in an ante in a hand and therefore “robbing” the winner of the pot in said hand. He wouldn’t drop it, even after the dealer asked him to, eventually riling up Lisandro so much that Lisandro threatened him with physical harm. As it turned out, it was Dustin Holmes that forgot to throw in his ante, not Lisandro.

Philadelphia Casino Opens Online Gambling Site in New Jersey

Philadelphia’s SugarHouse Casino has launched an online casino gaming site in neighboring New Jersey. The site and gaming platform was developed by Rush Street Interactive, a subsidiary of Rush Street Gaming, the company that owns SugarHouse Casino.

PlaySugarHouse.com does not offer online poker, just casino games such as slots, video poker, and various table games. In a press release, Rush Street Interactive president Richard Schwartz talked about how player friendly the new site is going to be, saying that it will provide “….….a unique player experience that delivers more because New Jersey players deserve more.”

“We keep our slot minimums low and offer extremely low-stakes table games, so you can play longer and make your entertainment budget go further. And still win big,” he added.

PlaySugarHouse.com operates under the Golden Nugget Atlantic City’s permit and presumably houses its servers on the Golden Nugget’s premises.